Moonlight Kin: A Wolf's Tale (18 page)

They walked to the parking lot where Jack had left his truck.

“I thought we’d go to that fabulous fish place up the coast,” he suggested.

Madie’s stomach clenched. “Are you talking about Neptune’s?” That was where she and Damon had, had their first date. She didn’t want to go there, it would only make her more miserable.

“Yes, that’s the place.” He unlocked the truck and walked to the driver’s side.

Madie opened her door and climbed inside. “Do you mind if we go to Bob’s steakhouse instead? I’m not in the mood for fish.” Nor did she think she’d ever be again.

Jack grinned. “Sure, no problem.”

His mannerisms were so much like Damon’s that Madie found herself nearly calling him the wrong name on several occasions. She didn’t think Jack would appreciate that much. And she wouldn’t blame him.

Throughout dinner, Jack remained charming, but aloof. He asked her questions about what she’d studied, what she liked, didn’t like, and what her future plans were. When Madie inquired about his past, Jack’s demeanor changed and he became evasive.

Madie chalked it up to being around Gaston too long. He had that effect on people, her included. It wasn’t like she was looking for a relationship with the man, so it really didn’t matter what he chose to confide.

After dinner, they drove back to Madie’s apartment. The food had been delicious and she was still stuffed. She’d been ravenous all day, but considering how she’d spent last night that was hardly a surprise.

Jack’s cologne mingled in the air between them as they strolled down the sidewalk to her apartment. He smelled woodsy and fresh with a hint of citrus. Madie sniffed again, not citrus, orange. It was a nice combination and suited him from what she could tell.

When they reached the front door, Madie turned to face Jack, resting her back against the wooden frame. “I had a lovely time tonight. Thank you for taking me to dinner.”

“You only graduate once,” he said. “I’m glad I got to share this night with you.”

She smiled. “Me, too.”

Jack leaned closer. He was taller than Damon by an inch or two and he looked as if he out weighed him by at least twenty pounds. She wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley.

Madie paused, surprised by her wayward thought. Jack had been nothing but a gentleman all evening. He deserved her respect.

“I’d better get inside.” She gripped the doorknob behind her back. “I’m sure Gaston will be here first thing in the morning.”

Jack shook his head. “No, you have a slight reprieve. He plans to come next weekend. He’s been experiencing problems on the estate.”

Madie straightened. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, just business stuff.” He crowded her with his large body, then paused as if gauging her reaction. “I was hoping that maybe you’d invite me in for coffee, before the long drive back.”

Madie hesitated, then said, “Sure.” It wasn’t like he was going to do anything with the threat of Gaston hanging over his head. She unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Jack followed her and shut the door behind him. He slipped off his coat and dropped it beside him as he sat on the couch. Madie walked into the kitchen to get some instant coffee.

When she returned to the living room with the two steaming cups, she found Jack rubbing his hands all over her worn throw. His eyes were closed and his head was thrown back as if he were in ecstasy. Madie almost laughed. He reminded her of a cat lounging in a pile of catnip.

She cleared her throat and asked, “What are you doing?”

Jack’s eyes flew open and he stilled. “Your apartment is nice. Did you decorate it yourself?”

Madie rolled her eyes as she handed him a cup. “What do you think?” She laughed as she slid into her overstuffed chair. “I call this collection early college student cheap.”

As if he couldn’t help himself, Jack clenched the throw again, squeezing it through his fists.

“Seriously, what’s up with the couch?” she asked.

“Sorry, it just smells so good.” His eyes nearly rolled back in his head.

Madie sniffed, then wrinkled her nose. She couldn’t smell anything. “Really?”

His eyes fluttered open. “Yes, I can’t get enough of it. What do you use on it?”

She hadn’t used anything, but she had spent a good amount of hours napping on it. “It’s ‘
Eau de Madeleine
’, I guess.” She giggled.

Jack’s expression went from lazy to intense. “You should bottle it.”

Madie flushed and glanced down at her cup. “You said you had a long drive. Where do you live?” She’d been wondering all night how Jack and her father had met. Personality wise, they didn’t seem anything alike. Maybe they lived in the same area.

Jack sipped his coffee. “I’ve been staying with Gaston for the past couple of months.”

“Months?” He’d been living with her father and she hadn’t even known about it. What else had been going on that she didn’t know about? Before Madie could ask, Jack’s cellphone rang.

“Excuse me,” he said, then answered. “Gaston, what’s happened?”

Madie’s heart raced. What was wrong?

“I see,” Jack said, his expression grim. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He shut off the phone.

“What is it?” Madie asked. “Is Gaston alright?”

“He’s fine,” Jack said. “Someone or something’s been setting off his traps. I have to go.” He stood and slipped his jacket on.

Cold enveloped her. For a few hours, she’d managed to forget that Jack was her father’s hunting buddy. The call brought everything into perspective. Madie walked him to the door.

The playfulness had left his eyes, replaced by a hard unforgiving mask. The coldness that she saw there frightened Madie. “Thank you for the coffee,” he said.

She nodded and started to shut the door. Jack’s hand sprang out and gripped the frame. “I’d like to see you again.”

“I-I don’t know, Jack.” Despite the wonderful evening and her best friend’s advice, Madie wasn’t ready to jump back in to dating.

His gaze locked onto hers. Before she realized what he was about to do, Jack leaned in and tried to kiss her. Madie turned her head at the last second and his lips brushed her cheek. It was an awkward moment for them both.

Jack let go of the door and pulled out a card from his wallet. He handed it to her, pressing it in Madie’s palm. His hand lingered over her fingertips. She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t allow it.

“At least think about it.” He released her hand. “I had a good time tonight and I know you did, too. Give me another chance.” With that, he left.

Madie shut the door and looked down at the card. It was a simple white design with embossed gold lettering. The only thing written on it was a phone number. It struck her as odd, since most people have their name engraved on business cards, but she shrugged it off as she placed it by the phone.

If Jack had been living with Gaston for months, then it had to have affected his behavior somehow. Gaston soiled everything he touched and that was never a good thing.

Chapter Nineteen

Jack smelled Damon Laroche all over Madie. It had been excruciating to sit through dinner with his stench so thick in the air. Even the smell of the food hadn’t helped. And it had only gotten worse, when they reached her apartment.

Damon was all over it and so was her heat. The second he’d sat down on her couch it had hit him like a sledgehammer to the gut. No wonder the wolf had rutted inside her. He’d barely been able to keep his hands to himself. Had Gaston not phoned when he did, Jack was pretty sure he would’ve acted on his instincts.

Of course, he would’ve had to bathe her first to get Damon’s scent off. The Alpha had marked her well. Jack doubted there was an inch of Madie’s skin that hadn’t been covered in Damon’s pheromones. What Jack didn’t understand was why?

Sure, Madie smelled delicious, but so did all women when they were in heat.

The Moonlight Kin and the Valois’ were enemies. That had not changed nor would it ever, if he had anything to say about it. Had the Alpha fucked her to somehow get back at her family? That made the most sense given their long convoluted history.

Jack thought about Madie. Gaston was under the impression that she was innocent. Pure. The old man would pop a blood vessel if he knew the truth. He laughed at the picture that leapt to mind. His daughter was anything but innocent, if she’d spread her legs for Laroche.

He wondered if Madie knew the truth about her lover.

Jack thought about telling her just to wipe that smug look off her face. She’d rejected him, when he’d tried to kiss her. How dare she reject him! He wasn’t the one betraying his family. He’d been betrayed. Jack knew how it felt, which was why he only looked out for himself.

He jumped into the truck and put it in gear. Madie would come around once she realized that she’d been used. He wouldn’t have to tell her. Damon would, since werewolves never mated with humans. Madie was an easy fuck, another weapon to be used on Gaston. Nothing more. Eventually, she’d figure out the true score and give him a call. Jack was sure of it. No one resisted his charm for long.

When she did, he’d follow Laroche’s example and fuck her in to submission.

***

Jack found Gaston deep in the woods. He’d gathered up all his destroyed traps into a pile, so they could examine them. His face was flushed from exertion and whiskey. His fetid breath nearly knocked him over when he spoke.

“How did it go?” Gaston asked. “Did you manage to sleep with her?”

Jack’s jaw clenched and he purposely focused on the traps, so Gaston couldn’t read his expression. “No, but we did have a nice dinner after her graduation.”

“Graduation?”

“Yeah, that’s what you bowed out of today,” Jack said, but there was no censure in his voice.

Gaston tossed another trap onto the pile. “Good to know that I didn’t miss anything important.”

“Madie was upset,” Jack said, just to see the old man’s reaction.

“She’s too much like her mother for her own good.” Gaston indicated to the traps. “What do you think?”

Jack examined them closely. Someone had taken a blowtorch to them. “It’s sabotage like you thought. These have been burned until they fell apart.”

“Damn it! It’ll take at least two weeks to replace all of these.” He scrubbed a hand through his red hair. “The full moon is in seven days.”

Jack glanced at him. “What would you like me to do?”

“Put them in your truck,” Gaston said.

“We could set up a blind in the trees. Pick them off as they make their way through the woods,” Jack suggested.

“They’ll smell us a mile away, even if we slather ourselves with bait goo.”

Jack nodded. “True. We’re not dealing with regular wolves.” An idea started to form in his mind. It might be just crazy enough to work. Jack loaded the traps into his truck and waited for Gaston to climb inside the cab. The old man was sweating and grunted like he’d run a marathon.

“What are you looking at?” Gaston’s eyes narrowed.

“I have an insane idea of how we can catch the wolves, but I’m not sure you’re going to like it,” Jack said.

“Try me,” Gaston replied.

“It involves using your daughter,” he said.

Gaston’s eyes narrowed even more. “Using her how?”

“I saw the Alpha wolf sniffing around her, when she was at work.”

Gaston stiffened. “Why didn’t you kill him?”

“Didn’t get the chance,” Jack said. “Anyway, I’m thinking that maybe we can use her as bait to lure him into an ambush. We kill the Alpha and the pack will be in disarray. What do you think?”

Gaston sat back and eyed him for what felt like an eternity. “You sure it was him?”

Jack nodded. “No, doubt in my mind.”

“Do you think he likes her enough for the plan to work?” Gaston asked.

“Pretty sure.”
If his stench was anything to go by.
Jack kept his expression neutral. Gaston would grow suspicious if he appeared too excited. “If nothing else, we could have it as our backup plan.”

Gaston grinned. “Now you’re thinking like a Hunter.”

Chapter Twenty

Damon stood in front of the Lycanian Elders. His head pounded and his throat was raw from pleading his case for two days. He’d missed Madie’s graduation, something he was sure she’d find unforgivable.

He still couldn’t believe his bondmate had turned out to be a human and not just any human, but the Hunter herself. Her face swam before his eyes, a vision of loveliness upon the ocean of uncertainty stretching before him.

Aidan Fortier stared down at him with a fierceness that reflected the intensity of his anger and disappointment. Damon’s first cousin had been the most vocal when he had announced that Madeleine Lucine-Valois was his bondmate. And he wasn’t finished reading the riot act to Damon yet.

Shouldn’t he be hoarse by now?

“It would be an abomination for you to take this woman as a mate. You are an Alpha. Or had you forgotten?” Aidan thundered, his eyes sparking with renewed fury. His whole body trembled. “Our species does not bond with humans.”

“Cousin—” Damon stared at Aidan, trying once again to reason with him.

“You will address the Lycanian Elders formally or you will be sanctioned. Do you understand?” Aidan snapped.

Damon nodded. “I apologize to the Elders.” He lowered his head as a sign of respect. “If I can have but a moment to give you my side of the story, I’m sure you will see that I have grounds to support my plea.”

“Proceed,” the Elders chimed in unison. Aidan glowered.

“Thank you.” Damon looked up, but did not make eye contact with any of the Elders. “As you know, I was tasked with assassinating the Hunter. I staked out Madeleine and realized that she had no werewolf blood on her hands. I thought this discovery warranted further investigation. In order to do that, I had to gain access to her inner circle.”

Aidan growled. “I don’t see why that was necessary.”

“I’m getting to that.” Damon made eye contact with Aidan just long enough to let his cousin know that he wasn’t going to be pushed around for much longer. “As I was saying, I needed to get closer, so I concocted an excuse for us to meet. We talked. I asked her out to dinner. It didn’t take long to realize that she wasn’t a willing participant in the initiation ceremony. In fact, she hates hunting.”